Development of partnership between the member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS will help increase the stability of national economies and withstand the pressure exerted by Western countries. Experts came to this conclusion following the session “EAEU—SCO—BRICS: Open Integration Dialogue”, which was held as part of the Eurasian Economic Forum.
KEY CONCLUSIONS
Dialogue Becomes More Relevant in International Relations
“A number of the world's leading economies are orientated towards isolated development. This will not, in our opinion, produce the effect we would like to achieve. On the contrary, in our Eurasian macro-region, we are striving to unite our efforts on the basis of a synergistic and complementary approach”, Mikhail Myasnikovich, Chairman of the Board, Eurasian Economic Commission.
“Global changes and large-scale transformations are under way. In international relations, unilateral approaches have increased significantly and we are witnessing a number of violations of international rules and principles. There is an acute shortage of dialogue, cooperation and mutual understanding. […] Under these conditions, the role of regional, trans-regional organisations and associations is naturally growing”, Nuran Niyazaliev, Deputy Secretary General, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Mutually Beneficial Partnership Will Help Ensure Economic Growth
“How can we make use of unifying synergy, of integration? We should start looking for additional reserves for our joint mutual growth”, Dmitry Volvach, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.
“All the countries of the EAEU, the SCO and BRICS face a common challenge — developing the economy, improving the people’s standard of living and strengthening external cooperation in a spirit of openness and mutual benefit. It is gratifying to see that the international prestige of the EAEU, SCO and BRICS countries is growing, as they play an important role in international and regional affairs”, Liu Xuesong, Plenipotentiary Minister, Embassy of the People`s Republic of China in the Russian Federation.
PROBLEMS
External Pressure from Western Countries Continues to Intensify
“It is impossible to withstand this pressure alone. We need to look for like-minded partners. The EAEU, SCO and BRICS are long-established structures that have specific goals and very clear competencies. The most important thing is that the functioning philosophy of all these formations is very consonant”, Yuri Gorelik, Head of the Department for Foreign Economic Activity, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.
“At the moment, the geopolitical situation in the world is jeopardising the international situation. Global trends are developing in such a way that no countries can ignore the need to develop and strengthen regional ties”, Omid Golzari, Director General of International Cooperation Department, Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
“On the Russian side, perhaps the most pressing issue today consists in the challenges in the area of trade and cooperation. The BRICS countries successfully promote common approaches to inadmissibility of discriminatory measures, taking a unified position on the illegitimacy of unilateral trade restrictions”, Dmitry Volvach, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.
Solutions Need to be Found to Logistics Challenges
“The blocking of trade settlements and interruptions in transport logistics have become obstacles to business cooperation between the countries of our organisations. Production and supply chains are also often broken, figuratively speaking. We should make full use of our own market and resource advantages, actively master settlements in national currencies and build new logistics and transport routes within the framework of the EAEU, SCO and BRICS”, Liu Xuesong, Plenipotentiary Minister, Embassy of the People`s Republic of China in the Russian Federation.
“Within the framework of the SCO, a roadmap has been approved for gradually increasing the share of national currencies in mutual settlements. […] This is not easy, and there are a number of procedural issues to be resolved. Experts are discussing further practical steps”, Nuran Niyazaliev, Deputy Secretary General, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
“The Eurasian Economic Commission has identified seven corridors for ensuring seamless movement of goods across our states. Yet, in principle, a so-called continuation is needed in the ASEAN countries, the SCO countries and, naturally, access to the European market”, Mikhail Myasnikovich, Chairman of the Board, Eurasian Economic Commission.
SOLUTIONS
Joint Action will Help Make National Economies More Resilient
“The BRICS, SCO and EAEU countries account for almost a third of the world's GDP and almost half of the global population. These are the most actively growing economies in the world. The most important thing here is to find the right interface mechanisms. We need to start with the trade and economic sphere because this is pivotal for all three associations”, Yuri Gorelik, Head of the Department for Foreign Economic Activity, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.
“A top priority, in our opinion, is to intensify joint work on making the national economies of the EAEU member states, our closest economic partners, more stable. Including through development of comprehensive cooperation with friendly countries, integration associations and international organisations”, Dmitry Volvach, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.
“The idea of developing a network community of the Greater Eurasian Partnership based on the principles of voluntariness and consideration of the interests of each country deserves to be promoted further and is supported by many member states, as well as the Chairman of CICA Kazakhstan”, Kairat Sarybay, Secretary General, Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measure in Asia (CICA).
“There are many potential areas for cooperation between the EAEU, SCO and BRICS. All parties should strive to promote system integration and lay the groundwork for a new collaboration model. China is ready actively to explore the possibilities for holding negotiations and signing agreements on Eurasian economic partnership”, Liu Xuesong, Plenipotentiary Minister, Embassy of the People`s Republic of China in the Russian Federation.
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